Best CPU Coolers 2024: AIO and Air Coolers | Tom's Hardware

The best air and AIO coolers we've tested, for overclocked monster rigs, budget builds, and everything in between

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There are two main types of CPU coolers and we've sorted our recommendations by type: 1. Best Air CoolersChoose one of the best Air coolers if you want to save some money and not worry about how and where to mount the radiator and fans. 2. Best AIO CoolersChoose an AIO cooler if you have a high-end CPU that you want to get the best performance from while also keeping things quiet.

Whether you’re after the highest possible CPU overclock, or just looking to build a PC that's silent under load, you should choose your CPU cooler carefully. The best CPU cooler for your build will make a big difference in your system's temperatures and fan noise. In high-end systems, it can even deliver better performance by keeping boost clocks higher for longer. We test dozens of PC air coolers and all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler models a year. Below you'll find our picks for the best coolers to keep your CPU temperatures under control. But if you're after a liquid cooler in particular, be sure to check out our Best AIO Coolers page for even more excellent cooler options.

AIO (Liquid) Cooler or Air Cooler?

If you’re not sure if you want to go the air cooling route (a big metal heatsink with fans) or opt for a liquid-cooled AIO (a pump attached to a radiator and fans), there are a few things to consider. Large air coolers tend to take up more internal space in your PC case, or at the very least they need more vertical clearance off your best motherboard, which can limit your case options. Air coolers can also be louder and less efficient than liquid coolers at moving heat away from your CPU and out of the chassis. These days, though, that’s not cut and dry. If you can go the extreme route, there are fanless air cooling options like Noctua's Colossal NH-P1 as well for the ultimate truly silent cooling option, although you'll still need case fans to move the warmed air out of your case.

Air coolers usually cost less than AIOs, with surprisingly solid options like the Amazon Basics CPU cooler costing less than $30. But AIO coolers are also getting increasingly affordable (and also more expensive), while high-end air coolers reach toward and sometimes above the $100 range. On the extreme air side of the cooling line, the Ice Giant Prosiphon Elite has an MSRP of $170, which competes with many large AIO coolers. There are, though, also decently performing air coolers that cost less than $30, and some great ones under $40.

Best for Most People

Best Air Cooler for Most People

The Phantom Spirit 120 EVO delivers top-tier cooling performance that beats high-end competitors like Noctua's D15S while costing nearly 2/3 less. If you're in the market for a large air cooler and you're looking for great performance and value, this is hands-down the model you should buy.

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Best Big Air Cooler

Best Big Air CPU Cooler

Thermalright’s Peerless Assassin 120 SE is one of the best-performing air coolers we’ve tested. It runs whisper-silent and is only $36. You can’t beat the value and performance offered by this cooler.

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Best Mid-size Cooler

Best Mid-size Air CPU Cooler

Scythe’s Mugen 6 combines good performance, the lowest possible noise levels, and affordability. It's often on sale for around $40.

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Best Entry-Level Air Cooler

Best Entry-Level Air Cooler

For under $20, the king of affordable air cooling, Thermalright, delivers a single-tower, single-fan cooler that delivers essential CPU cooling performance while keeping things quiet. You shouldn't use this for air cooling or extended heavy loads with a top-end i9, but for stock operation on mainstream chips, this is a quiet, affordable cooling champ.

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Best 360mm

Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler

Not just the most capable 360mm AIO we’ve tested, the GA II Performance has a low noise mode which our testing shows doesn’t result in performance reduction when paired with most CPUs. It’s also priced reasonably, well below $200.

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Best 360mm Alternative

Best 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler (Alternative)

The 360 Atmos is the best AIO that Cooler Master has made to date. It offers premium aesthetics, strong cooling performance, and quiet noise levels for under $150.

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Best Budget 360mm

Best Budget 360mm

Arctic’s Liquid Freezer II 360 is a high-end cooler with excellent acoustics, and our testing shows it can cool over 290W, for excellent sustained performance when paired with Intel’s highest-end CPUs. This combination of silence and cooling performance is though to discount.

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Best Multipurpose

Best Multipurpose AIO Liquid Cooler

Silverstone’s IceMyst doesn't just cool your CPU. The company offers up additional stackable fans for RAM and VRMs that sit on top of the CPU block to provide extra cooling for other components. In our testing, its CPU cooling results were also very good. With the fans set to a quiet 38.2 dBA, it had the best performance we've seen to date.

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Show More AIO Coolers ⬇

Best 420mm

Best 420mm AIO Liquid Cooler

This cooler's large 420 mm radiator helps it manage the best cooling performance we’ve seen yet. And the IPS screen is eye-catching and useful. Just be ready to pay (and perhaps buy a larger case) if you need this level of powerful, attractive cooling.

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Best 280mm

Best 280mm AIO Cooler

This 280mm AIO's vibrant IPS display is a stunner. But its top-tier cooling abilities and best-in-class low noise levels are really what makes it stick out from the cooling crowd.

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Best 240mm

Best 240mm AIO Cooler

The Galahad II Trinity Performance 240mm delives an unbeaten combo of cooling abilities and value. It outperforms many larger 360mm AIOs, while costing less and taking up less case space.

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Best 240mm Alternative

Best 240mm AIO Cooler Alternative

The MasterLiquid 240 Atmos offers up premium aesthetics, strong cooling performance, and quiet noise levels for $135. It's one of the best 240mm AIOs available.

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Best 120mm

Best 120mm AIO Cooler

Enermax's LiqMaxFlo SR 120mm SR combines very good thermal performance with low noise levels, at a competitive price. It aslo has a unique fan on top of the CPU block that helps circulate air around the socket, helping to chill VRMs and RAM.

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Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Our expert review:

Not long ago, Thermalight released its first Phantom Spirit 120 air cooler, which blew us away in terms of its tested performance and price, earning it a rare perfect score. But then, mere months later, the company returned with The Phantom Spirit 120 Evo, sporting updated fans with a dash of RGB and even better performance. The fans are also louder at max speed, but our testing shows you don't need the fans spinning at 100% to achieve chart-topping performance with this cooler.The Phantom Sprit 120 EVO cooled 238 watts in our benchmarking, a result only bested in air coolers by even larger coolers with 140 mm fans, like ID-Cooling’s A770 and Thermalright’s own Frost Commander 140. Even better, all coolers set to run their fans at a quiet 38.2 dBA, The Phantom Spirit 120 EVO EVO was actually the best-performing air cooler we've ever tested, beating out those larger, more expensive alternatives.

Read: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO

Costly coolers from the likes of Noctua and Be Quiet have long dominated both benchmarks and enthusiasts' perceptions when it comes to top CPU cooling performance. But in recent months, Thermalright's coolers have made those $100-plus coolers (and, frankly, most other coolers) tough to recommend. The Phantom Spirit 120 EVO basically bests or matches the performance of Coolers like Noctua's D15S, while costing not much more than a third of that cooler's price.

Our expert review:

Thermalright's Peerless Assassin 120 SE lives up to its name, delivering the best performance from an air cooler that we've tested on Intel's Alder Lake at a price that undercuts the competition. In our tests, it performed so well when cooling our Core i9-12900K that we re-tested it multiple times to be sure the results were correct. The Peerless Assassin 120 SE cooled the CPU when it was drawing over 200 watts better than our tested competition, and at lower thermal/TDP settings, it performed much better than the competition.

The cooler's two 120mm fans did their job of dissipating all that heat at low noise levels, making at just 34.5dB at max speed, and 33dB at 50% speed. It's also available in in silver/gray, white or black, so it should fit in with most build themes if you care about matching aesthetics. Whether you care about value or not, you should consider this cooler for your next system build, so long as your case has room for it.

Read: Thermalright Peerless Assassin SE review

Our expert review:

With the Mugen 6, Scythe brings performance and noise levels comparable to high-end models available from BeQuiet! and DeepCool, at a lower price. If you’re after a well-performing air cooler with low maximum noise levels, the Mugen 6 and Mugen 6 Black Edition are well worth considering.

There aren’t many other quiet coolers at this price level, aside form Thermalright’s Phantom Spirit 120. It can dissipate slightly more watts for high-end CPUs, but it does so at higher maximum noise levels.

Read: Scythe Mugen 6 review

Our expert review:

You shouldn't use it for overclocking, but for those looking for an aftermarket cooler on a tight budget, Thermalright’s Assassin X 120 R SE is the best option on the market at the moment. Our testing shows it delivers essential cooling performance sufficient for most users, while also keeping noise levels low. Its one-year warranty is less than most of the competition. But if the fan goes in a couple of years, you can probably afford to replace it considering how affordable this cooler is.Read: Thermalright Assassin X 120 R SE review

Our expert review:

Lian Li’s latest 360mm AIO raises the bar for closed-loop liquid cooling. Every component has been upgraded from the previous-gen model, resulting in absolute cooling domination in our testing. The cooler installation is simple and easy, and it’s reasonably priced for a performance-focused 360mm cooler. This is the best 360mm liquid cooler on the market right now, without question.

While the GA II Perfmance's cooling abilities are impressive, thermals are only one part of the picture. Noise levels are important as well. In its out-of-the-box configuration, Lian Li’s cooler runs loudly at 55.2 dBA.

But Lian Li included a built-in low-noise/high-performance toggle switch, allowing you to reduce maximum fan speeds and noise levels with the flip of a switch. Coolers with low-noise modes usually have reduced thermal performance when it's enabled. But we didn’t observe any difference in thermals between the two modes when tested with our i7-13700K. When set to the low noise mode, total noise output is reduced to 49.2 dBA, which is on par with MSI’s and DeepCool’s competing 360mm AIOs. So there's no reason for this cooler to be loud, and you can make it much quieter with the flip of a switch.

Read: Lian Li Galahad II Performance Review

Our expert review:

After installing and testing it, I found Cooler Master’s new MasterLiquid 360 Atmos especially impressive flagdhip AIO. It has an extremely low noise profile in most common workloads and provides among the best thermal performance I’ve seen from any 360mm cooler.

The attention to detail is apparent in its design, and the rated 160,000 hour-plus lifespans for the fans and 210,000 hours for the pump, combined with a 5-year warranty, show that Cooler Master truly backs the quality of its cooler.

Read: Cooler Master Master Liquid 360 Atmos review

Our expert review:

Iceberg Thermal isn't as well known as its larger competitors, like Asus, Cooler Master or Corsair. But its IceFLOE Oasis 360mm AIO delivers a great balance of performance, low noise, and price. If even two of those three criteria top your priorities list, this coolerstrongly worth considering. Its temperatures and cooling abilities are generally close in our testing to coolers that cost much more. And at 45.3 dBA at max volume, this cooler also isn't the quietest out of the box (though again, it's not far off the leaders here).But when dialed down to our noise-normalized 38.2 dBA (quiet, but still slightly audible to most people), the IceFLOE Oasis 360mm stands out, delivering effectively the same watts cooled as the best performers in this benchmark: much pricier options from Lian Li and Silverstone. The IceFLOE is very much worth considering for anyone shopping for a quiet or budget-friendly 360mm AIO. If you're after both, this is probably the cooler you should buy.

Read: Iceberg Thermal IceFLOE Oasis 240 and 360 Review

Our expert review:

There is still room for innovation in the CPU cooling market, as evidenced by Silverstone's IceMyst AIO line. The 360mm model we tested performed generally quite well in our testing, but apart from that, this cooler lets you add multiple additional fans (which cost $16 each) on top of the CPU block that can easily be positioned to help cool VRMs, RAM, SSDs, or other nearby components. While not everyone needs this additional cooling, it's a unique option not available from any other AIO or air cooler. And the IceMyst is also priced less than most high-end AIO coolers.We tested both the 360 and 240mm IceMyst AIOs and they performed well overall, generally landing close tot he best-performing alternatives in terms of thermal dissipation. But if you set the IceMyst cooler's fans to a quiet 38.2 dBA, as well as its competitors, Silverstone’s 360mm cooler performed better than any cooler we've tested, dissipating 237 watts. The 240mm model also did well, removing 228W of heat. The only real downside is that you'll have to do some fan speed tweaking to get the best results. By default, Silverstone sets the IceMyst's fan speeds higher than they need to be, making them louder than necessary. But take a few minutes to set a custom fan curve in your BIOS or motherboard software, and these coolers offer the best noise-normalized performance we've tested so far. Plus, if you want to add some additional cooling to components around your CPU, you can do so for as little as $16 extra.

Read: Silverstone IceMyst 360 and 240mm AIO Review

Our expert review:

Corsair’s iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT AIO delivers the the most impressive cooling performance we’ve tested yet with Intel’s i9-13900K, handling over 325W in our most intensive thermal tests. Unlike other coolers though, the noise level of the H170i Elite is tied to the CPU coolant temp, resulting in quieter operation during most common tasks, as well as the elimination of bursty fan behavior. But we saw noisier operation in testing under sustained loads.

Corsair's flagship is one of the best coolers currently available in terms of performance and features, but it’s very expensive, at over $300. So if you don’t mind going without its pretty 2.1-inch display, the company also sells an iCUE H170i Elite Capellix XT with the same radiator and pump for around $240.That’s still expensive for a cooler. But if your CPU is actually thermally demanding enough need something as large and in charge as a 420 mm cooler, you can probably afford to spend a bit extra to keep it running as fast as possible under load.

Read: Corsair iCUE H170i Elite LCD XT review

Our expert review:

With the right design, you don’t need a 360mm AIO or a loud cooler to keep modern high-end CPUs from throttling -- and Lian Li’s Galahad II LCD 280 proves it. Its performance is amongst the best we’ve seen from any AIO, and its limited 280mm radiator size means that it will fit in many cases where a 360mm model won’t. The LCD screen atop the cooling plate is vibrant and adds eye-catching functionality, too.

At $229, the Galahad II LCD 280 is on the fairly expensive, but if the LCD display isn’t important to you, the non-LCD versions of the Galahad II are available for $159.99 for the 360mm version and $119.99 for the 240mm model. That's a lot more affordable for what should be performance that's just as impressive as this model.

Read: Lian Li Galahad II LCD 280 Review

Our expert review:

I never imagined that a 240mm AIO would have this level of thermal domination. Lian Li’s Galahad Trinity II Performance 240mm got surprisingly close to and even outperformed 360mm AIOs in our testing that were previously considered among the best available.You can’t go wrong with Lian Li’s Galahad II Trinity 240mm if you're after a cooler that performs well. Our testing shows it's the best-cooling AIO of its size on the market. It's also quiet under most conditions, and is reasonably priced at only $119.99.

Read: Lian Li Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 Review

Our expert review:

After testing, I found Cooler Master’s new MasterLiquid 240 Atmos especially impressive. The company improved its flagship AIO in several key areas: Noise levels are low in most common workloads, and despite its smaller 240mm profile, this is one of only a handful of AIOs I’ve tested that can keep Intel’s i7-13700K under its peak temperature, even in the most thermally demanding scenarios.

Cooler Master also backs the quality of this product with rated lifespans of over 160,000 hours for the fans and 210,000 hours for the pump, combined with a 5-year warranty.Lian Li's Galahad II Trinity Performance 240 cools just slightly better and sells for a little less. But Cooler Master's Atmos includes an ARGB controller box for syncing your lighting with other components. If you have a use for the controller, which would cost about $20 on its own, these two coolers are effectively evenly priced.

Read: Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 Atmos Review

Generally, you can get better performance with air cooler at a lower price than a small 120mm AIO. And an air cooler won't add the underlying hum of pump noise to your PC. But there are certain systems, whether they be extremely compact, or just with very little clearance above the CPU socket and no space to mount a larger 240mm radiator, where 120mm AIOs are your best (or perhaps only) option.We tested four popular models of these compact liquid coolers. And while Enermax LiqMaxFlo SR 120mm wasn't hands-down the best performer when it comes to cooling, it offered the best balance of cooling ability, quiet noise levels, and price (selling for around $80 when we wrote this). Enermax's cooler also has a unique feature in its CPU-block-mounted RGB fan, which adds a splash of color while also helping to circulate air around your VRMs and RAM. In extremely tight cases where you might have to use a 120mm AIO, that extra airflow can be a very helpful feature.

Read our 120mm AIO roundup: Testing Be Quiet, Corsair, Cooler Master, and Enermax models

With new chipsets (and their corresponding CPUs) on the horizon, likely from both Intel and AMD, we are sure to see a slew of new motherboards at Computex 2024 in early June. The trade show is also very component-heavy, so we expect to see several new coolers to go along with these upcoming new platforms.

It will be interesting to see how the new silicon (and a new socket from Intel's side) tax both existing AIOs and air coolers and the new coolers that get announced in Taiwan. But for that, we'll have to wait for the platforms to actually launch first. Until then, keep an eye out on our Computex 2024 coverage page to see all the new cooling hardware from Taipei, and so much more.

When choosing the best CPU cooler for your needs, consider the following:

Whether you're shopping for one of the products that made our best CPU coolers list or one that didn't, you may find some savings by checking out our list of Newegg promo codes or Corsair coupon codes.

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After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.

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